YDI is now Georgia Center for Developmental Science

SUMMER 2024 NEWS

Youth Development Institute is now the Georgia Center for Developmental Science! We are multidisciplinary cutting-edge research hub focused on the study of human development with the aim to enhance the wellbeing of children, youth and families.

UPCOMING EVENT! Friday August 23rd Dr. Idan Shalev will present his work to the community and YOU are invited - RSVP here

New Offerings in Community Engagement

This summer our Community Engagement team has traveled hundreds of miles and talked with at least as many families so that we can keep building new connections and learning about you! We are developing new strategies and materials to bring brain science to you in even more engaging ways. Did you know you can request a free visit from our Events & Education team to your school or organization? Read on to learn about one of our “mobile field trips”!

Brooklyn Crabtree, a graduate research assistant, teaching a classroom of kids about neuroscience.

Earlier this summer, graduate student Brooklyn Crabtree and Dr. Sarah Whitaker brought the joys of brain science to Lovin Elementary School. This classroom of third graders learned about neuroscience, neuroimaging, and how MRI machines work while wearing our VR headset!

Picture: Brooklyn Crabtree (Left)

Click Here to Request a Free Visit from the Education & Events Team

Community Partner Spotlight: A.S.P.I.R.E. Oglethorpe

A.S.P.I.R.E. is an after-school tutoring and academic enrichment program for children in Oglethorpe County grades K-5.

We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to partner with Program Director Dr. Tonia Willis (pictured on the right) and bring fun brain health activities to Camp A.S.P.I.R.E., their summer program!

Research Opportunities

B.R.A.N.C.H.

Building Resilience and Nurturing Children’s Health is a study looking at resilience in small town youth. We are looking for families in Athens and surrounding areas who have children ages 6.5-9 years old to participate.

NIH Grant R01 DA055630-01

Click Here to Take our Eligibility Survey

Have you participated in a study with us before? We’d love to hear about your experience!

Click Here to Share Your Experience

Child-Life Corner

A Word From Our Child-Life Specialist:

Lauren Holley M.S., CCLS

Hi everyone! I’m a Certified Child Life Specialist. If you haven’t ever heard of that, it’s ok! A CCLS is trained to help children and families cope with things that might be challenging or hard, specifically related to healthcare experiences. While many CCLS work in hospitals, some work in other community settings. My job at the Center is to help families feel comfortable and confident with the MRI experience that is part of many of our research studies. Through education, preparation, and play I make sure that everyone knows what to expect. I provide children with the skills to get their brain pictures taken like a pro! Kids thrive when they are prepared and know what to expect and I’m here to help do that.

Child Life Tip of the Day: Vaccinations

Do you dread taking your child in for their vaccines? We feel the same way!

Back to school and flu season calls for vaccines to keep families healthy. As a child life specialist, I have helped so many families with pokes. As a mom, I understand the stress that can come along with these visits! Here are a few tips to help you and your child through those tough appointments.

Be honest: Hiding the truth won’t make the vaccine any less painful! If you know they are getting a shot, be upfront. Kids can handle tough things better when they know what’s coming.
Prepare the child: If you know your child is going to get a shot, let them know at an appropriate time. For younger children, I recommend waiting until the day before or the day of depending on timing. For older children, you may want to give them a little more time. You know your child best, so you can determine the best time to talk about it! (Tip: Don’t tell them right before bed!)
Make a plan together: Once you tell your child about the shot, it’s time to make a plan! Here are few questions you can consider asking:
- Would they like to sit on their own or in your lap?
- Would they like to bring something else to focus on such as a book or a tablet?
- What do you want to do after the appointment?

Want to learn more? Check out 14 Diseases You Almost Forgot About (Thanks to Vaccines)

Student Showcase

Congratulations to our graduate team member Cullin Howard (above, on right)

In July, Cullin presented for the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) in Boston. His group’s presentation, “Cross-wavelet coherence analysis as a promising dynamic multiscale biomarker for child-parent dyadic physiological synchrony,” examined how aspects of the family environment are linked to how parent and child stress response systems move together while the child is experiencing stress. This is one way in that parent-child relationships get "beneath the skin" to influence later developmental outcomes.

Graduate students Avary Evans & Anna Grossman will be sharing new findings at upcoming academic conferences:

Avary Evans’s presentation is titled, “Pubertal Hormone Trajectories Altered by Harsh Rearing Environments Predict: An Accelerated Design Using the ABCD study”

Anna Grossman’s presentation is titled, “Superior Frontal Gyrus Activation Modulates Associations between Depression and Substance Use Vulnerability in Rural Youths: an In-Home FNRIS Assessment.”

This summer, we had the pleasure of hosting three full-time summer undergraduate interns funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) programs. Jaiden Nicholson (Boston College) and Caroline Alvarado (NYU) came to us through the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) summer program, while Zoe Niesen (Belmont University) joined our lab through the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience in Neuroscience (N-SURE). Congratulations to them all for their final presentations and best wishes for the work they aim to do!

Picture: Jaiden (Left), Zoe (Middle), Caroline (Right)

Georgia Center for Developmental Science was also honored to host Chicago high school students Kaden Ambers and Colin King during their 2nd year in the Urban Agriculture and Life Sciences Institute (UALSI).

We loved being able to engage these students with our work! Congratulations to Kaden and Colin for presenting at a symposium on Friday, June 28th at UGA.

Picture: Kaiden Ambers (Top) and Colin King (Bottom)

Click Here to Learn More about our Team Members!

Science Spotlight

Recently, a segment by NBC News Daily calls attention to work coming out of our center. This same study was also discussed in a recent article from the Washington Post titled, “Racism can spark depression and anxiety in Black adolescents, study finds.” Dr. Assaf Oshri, spoke to the Washington Post about the importance of using research to reflect that, “discriminatory experiences are harming our children and [their] development.” He continued saying, “We know discriminatory experiences are associated with a range of negative health outcomes. This study is showing that some brain patterns that are trying to process threats … can help [participants] cope with these types of experiences, but there might be an emotional toll.” Research like this supports the development of effective programs and interventions for youth.

Center for Developmental Science Associate Director, Dr. Charles Geier, has published two articles this summer. His first article, “What ergodicity means for you,” explores the relation between within-person and between-person research designs using the concept of ergodicity from statistical mechanics in physics. His second article is “Associations between somatomotor-putamen resting state connectivity and obsessive-compulsive symptoms vary as a function of stress during early adolescence: Data from the ABCD study.” In this, he discusses the finding that higher stress and connectivity between certain brain regions in 9-12 year olds were linked to more severe obsessive-compulsive symptoms. This suggests that stress may modify how brain connectivity impacts obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Other Community Resources

Learn more about what some of our favorite partner organizations and research teams are doing below!

Family Matters in Georgia (FMIG) is a UGA research study studying how everyday experiences affect the health of families in Georgia. If you’re interested in participating or hearing more: Learn More
Advantage Behavioral Health Systems provides person-centered treatment and recovery support to individuals and families experiencing behavioral health challenges, intellectual/developmental disabilities, and addictive diseases. If you or someone you know would benefit from their services, Learn More
NE GA Regional Commission (NEGRC) Workforce Development aims to offer and connect people with educational and workforce preparation opportunities. If you’re interested in their services, whether personally or for your business: Learn More

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